A Danish lawyer, whose name was made public today with the permission of the judicial authorities, is being prosecuted for her involvement in the laundering of money, specifically more than €4.3 million, and for laundering nearly 210.000 euros having a connection with organized crime.
The Court of Appeal of Denmark’s Eastern District (Østre Landsret) lifted a ban on the publication of the name of Liz Rulund, whose fraud activities are featured in a documentary series called “The Black Swan” (“Den sorte svan” in Danish), local media outlets in court reported.
The five-episode documentary series, which aired in the spring, describes the relationship between organized crime and lawyers, businessmen, and contractors. The Danish lawyer appears as an adviser to a gang, the Bandidos, as they are called in this series.
The bar association filed a lawsuit against her for alleged complicity in money laundering, disclosure of classified information, and abuse of power.
In early September, the police’s special unit for financial crime (NSK) had announced, without naming her, that it was charging her for “allowing 33 million kroner (more than €4.3 million) to pass into the accounts of her own clients without making sure that the money did not come from criminal activity” between May 2021 and October 2022.
The lawyer is also suspected of “laundering a total of SEK 2.4 million (€210,000) by transferring it to hide or disguise the illegal origin of the money,” NSK had clarified.
Using a hidden camera brought in by its informant, lawyer Amira Smadzic, the TV2 television network revealed in its documentary series numerous cases of fraud and serious offenses such as money laundering.
Smadzic had tried to prevent the series from being shown, arguing that it posed a serious threat to her life.
The Supreme Court had, in a final judgment, refused to grant her request, considering that the subject of the documentary “is of very great social interest”.
This promotion has led to the intensification of the ongoing audits and investigations.
One lawyer who has been charged, Nikolai Dir, has already been disbarred.
